EBPD Unity Tour team gets $10K contribution

East Brunswick Patrolman Jason Haykel watches as Kelly Lockwood writes out a check for $10,000 for the Police Unity Tour, an annual bike ride that raises funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

EAST BRUNSWICK - Township police officers getting ready for the upcoming Police Unity Tour hit their bikes for a practice run Friday by visiting all 10 elementary schools in town.

The Police Unity Tour, which raises money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., will take place May 9-13. The annual bike tour launches out of Morris Township and arrives in Washington, D.C., three days later.

On Friday, East Brunswick police officers Jason Haykel, Guy Limato and Sean Taulane met at Carrabba's restaurant on Route 18 with their sponsor, Kelly Lockwood, chief executive officer for nutritional products H57 Hoodia/I57 Ignite.

Limato, a 25-year veteran of the police department, took the H57 Hoodia to get in shape for the bike tour after hearing it advertised on WPLJ-FM and lost about 20 pounds. Upon learning this, Lockwood decided to donate $10,000 to the East Brunswick police team for the tour, the largest sponsorship donation given to any police department in the United States.

PHOTOSBY CHRIS KELLY staff

The Police Unity Tour, founded in 1997 by a Florham Park police officer, has raised over $3 million for the memorial fund, raising support and awareness for the officers memorial, honoring the service and sacrifices of law enforcement officers, and providing assistance to survivors of officers killed in the line of duty, among other functions.